VIETNAM and Cambodia celebrated 42 years since the defeat of the Western-backed Pol Pot regime on Thursday in a joint ceremony.

Cambodian Consulate General Sok Dareth expressed profound gratitude to the Vietnamese Communist Party at the Ho Chi Minh City commemoration for their efforts in helping the country “escape from the genocidal regime.”

Quoting Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, he said “thanks to Vietnam, Cambodia could build up its armed forces and liberate the people and the country has the best friend that is Vietnam.”

The two nations have strong bilateral relations and recently signed an agreement regarding land border demarcation while supporting each other at regional and international forums to co-operate in developing their economies.

President of the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association Truong Minh Nhut said that the defeat of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge on January 7 1979 was “the manifestation of pure international solidarity and the special friendship between the Vietnamese and Cambodian peoples.”

The Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia in 1975, operating a brutal regime and genocide against its people.

Pol Pot was supported, armed and funded by the US who voted for the Khmer Rouge to retain its seat at the UN even after its 1979 defeat.